YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Irma Aletha Tate, 85, of Youngstown, Ohio departed this life Sunday, January 8, 2023.
She was born August 28, 1937 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the daughter of L. Virginia Thompson.
Growing up in Smithfield, Virginia, Irma strengthened her knowledge of everyday living and used her heart to heal others.
With only an elementary school education, Irma’s ethics and dedication led her to find work at a diner as a waitress and years later, worked 20 years as a lead in the paint and chassis department of the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, where she retired.
Irma was resilient in every aspect of her life and no stranger to adventure. With every lemon handed to her, she happily made freshly squeezed lemonade. She enjoyed a fruitful life from her travels to faraway places worldwide, to her C.B. radio call sign “Bright Eyes”, becoming a well-known and welcomed sound on America’s highways and byways.
She leaves to mourn two daughters, Virginia Neal (Leon) of Del City, Oklahoma and Funeka Tate-Williams (Vincent) of Atlanta, Georgia; seven grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.
Irma’s love, strength, courage, integrity and ethics gave her family the blueprint of what life should be. Her favorite scripture Matthew 7:12 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”
She was preceded in death by her mother; one son, Michael; two brothers, Sonny and Lodean and former spouse, Finis.
The family held private services.
Local arrangements of comfort were handled by the Sterling-McCullough Williams Youngstown Funeral Home.
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A television tribute will air Thursday, January 26 at the following approximate times: 6:47 a.m. on WYTV, 9:43 a.m. on WKBN, 10:58 a.m. on FOX and 8:12 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.